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Post by papaof2 on May 4, 2024 11:02:05 GMT -6
The University of Georgia has a weather network set up at locations throughout the state. The information available now includes something that anyone interested in solar power should be very happy with: the instantaneous solar irradiation in Watts / Square meter. Why? solar panels are rated at 1000 watts/sq meter so if your 250 watt panel is only delivering 125 watts and the UGA weather Network station nearest is showing Solar Radiation 500.8 W/m2 then you know exactly why the panels are not delivering full output ;-) Link to sample station: weather.uga.edu/index.php?content=calculator&variable=CC&site=DALLASThere's a popup list at the bottom of the page which allows you to pick any of the stations. I haven't explored what the other 49 states have but you should check for weather studies your state colleges / universities might be involved in. There is also farm data, such as soil temperature 2, 4 and 8 inches below the surface. What soil temperature is safe to plant your peas, beans, greens? It also has the oil moisture content and today's long, slow rain (since about 6:30AM) might have affected that number.
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Post by feralferret on May 4, 2024 17:30:32 GMT -6
Many Weather Underground stations also report the instantaneous solar irradiation in Watts / Square meter.
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Post by papaof2 on Jun 10, 2024 22:32:36 GMT -6
And there may be a www.wunderground.com/ station much closer to your location than the college/university study stations. Last time I checked, there was one about 2 miles from me. I just did the check again and that station is no longer in the wunderground network :-( But there is one just a little farther away ;-) Using the lat/long calculator at www.omnicalculator.com/other/latitude-longitude-distance the current nearest wunderground station is a little over 3.5 miles east of me. That's a little closer than the general aviation airport in the next county but I don't know if the wunderground station has backup power. There is another wunderground station a little closer to me but their outdoor temperature is currently 7 degrees lower than ours (thermometer hanging in the shade of the screened porch and checked against 2 other thermometers so their average is close to correct) so I question the accuracy of their temperature readings. If you don't know your lat/long, there are multiple sites that can turn an address into lat/long: Google, Yahoo, Geocoder, Ibegin - or just search for "What's my latitude and longitude?" which should give you multiple options. If you have "location" turned on on your phone, it has your current lat/long. I don't have "location" turned on on any of my devices. If the restaurant chain wants my location when I search for a location, I'll input a zip code.
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